The Libyan Foreign Bank has sued Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister and the country’s national oil company, seeking repayment of debts amounting to more than US$100 million.
The lawsuit was filed in a British court in November last year and relates to loans issued under a credit facility agreed in 2001.
According to court papers, the Libyan Foreign Bank says Zimbabwe has failed to honour its repayment obligations.
The bank submitted that the national oil company paid only US$5.5 million in four instalments between 2013 and 2023, while the outstanding balance, including interest, has now risen to over US$100 million.
The bank further claims that Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister at the time approved the agreement and that the Ministry of Finance provided a government guarantee for the debt.
Libyan Foreign Bank also says Zimbabwean government officials have repeatedly acknowledged the debt in official correspondence since 2005.
Zimbabwe is currently largely shut out of international capital markets due to unpaid external debts estimated at at least US$21 billion, including arrears owed to the World Bank and other multilateral lenders accumulated over the past 26 years.
More: The Libya Observer
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